Debt Relief Company in Australia Releases Quarterly Poll.

Fox Symes, The Largest Debt Relief Specialist in Australia, Announces Quarterly Debt Poll

SYDNEY, Australia -- Fox Symes, the largest debt relief company in Australia, today announced that the first national Newspoll into how Australians feel about household debt has revealed that Australia is a nation of worriers, with more people concerned about paying bills than becoming the victim of a violent crime.

The findings of the Fox Symes Quarterly Debt Poll have revealed that 9 out of 10 Australians (92%) feel household debt is a problem in Australia.

"Country and city dwellers, men and women and low and high income earners all agree that household debt is a major source of worry," said Fox Symes debt relief expert Deborah Southon.

Fox Symes is doing its part to help people in Australia manage their way out of debt.

Ms Southon said that those most intensely concerned about rising household debt in Australia were women and people over the age of 50.

"One in six people (14%) feel that their personal household debt has increased over the past three months.

"And one in four (23%) believe their overall financial situation has worsened.

"We can put this down to the obvious factors like the rise in petrol prices and interest rates but people also identified other significant causes of rising household debt," she said.

The primary causes of household debt rise in the past three months were:

Co new purchases and expenses such as a new car, home renovations, household purchases (31%)

Co day to day living expenses / bills (26%)

Co the costs of petrol and / or running a vehicle (22%)

Co mortgage, loan or interest rates (22%)

Co employment related reasons (9%)

Co other reasons included credit cards, the cost of education, drought, business related expenses and health / medical expenses

"The fact that Australians are listing cost of living items, like groceries, as a reason for falling into debt should sound alarm bells in households across the country," said Ms. Southon.

"It's important to rein in the big ticket purchases and never be in a situation where household expenses and bill payments are placed on credit cards. We are seeing an increasing number of people using their credit cards as a supplement to their income," she said.

The Fox Symes Quarterly Debt Poll examined the level of concern about debt in comparison to a range of social issues. Responses ranged from "A Lot," "A Little," "Not At All" to "Refused/No Answer."

"Clearly, the poll shows that Australians are affected by long term and short term debt. The fact that even younger people are expressing their concern means that there is a clear need for educating Australians to better manage their financial affairs."

The Fox Symes debt relief company has undertaken to conduct Quarterly Debt polls to track financial information in Australia.

The Fox Symes Quarterly Debt Poll is a national telephone poll of 1,200 Australians over the age of 18 years and was conducted by Newspoll during September 2006. Fox Symes is the premier debt relief company in Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of FSA Group Limited, a public company listed on the ASE.

More information can be found at www.foxsymes.com.au or 1300 660 032.

Contact: Jennifer Havilah 0421 829 913 or [e-mail] for interview with Deborah Southon.